Crash and Burn
by VellichorDynasty
Summary: The World Grand Prix has its own tradition, and Francesco and Lightning are eager to race again. But, when mysterious crashes begin popping up as before, agent Finn McMissile is at a loss. After a crash too brutal hits a nerve, Finn sets out to find answers. But, what he finds is not what he was expecting at all. /Story written by Paforex and nightfuryshadows./
1. The World Grand Prix

"Speed...I...am...speed..." Lightning McQueen's eyes flicked open as he finished his old mantra, his gaze set on the flag. The night sky was lit with stars and a crescent moon, though the cheering of all the crowds was what McQueen was most interested in. This felt like home to him now, what with all his friends by his side to cheer him on.

Mater had been coming along to his races for a while now, ever since everything that had happened nearly 3 years ago. The World Grand Prix, though it had been a hoax formulated by Miles Axlerod, had begun its own tradition; each year, the best of the best would come back to the challenge and race again, like all that time ago. There was a prize in fact, though, it was gloating rights nowadays to say you'd won this year's World Grand Prix. The races were in a different order, with the first now being held in Italy, the second in Japan, and the third in London.

To Mater's excitement, two familiar agents would come to the races if they were free; Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell. They had decided it wouldn't hurt to come along and view the races with him. Both sat next to the tow truck along with the other members of McQueen's crew, who were all waiting anxiously as the warning sound rang to signal the races were going to begin momentarily. "Good luck McQueen!" Mater heartened into the microphone of his headset.

Everyone in the crowd lit up as the flag was waved and all the cars sped off. Within the rows, the winners of last years' races were in last, and the losers of the race were granted first place in the next race if they chose to participate. McQueen was second to last, followed by none other than Francesco Bernoulli. Ever since triumphing over McQueen the previous year, Francesco wouldn't let him live it down in the year's entirety. So, McQueen entered again to win back the title he should have earned. Francesco lead up head to head with McQueen now, their bumpers near the same distance before Francesco began to speed up, flashing McQueen a smirk as he sped away. "Ciao McQueen!"

McQueen frowned and rolled his eyes, watching the Italian racer pass him with a sharpness in his gaze. At the moment, all the racers were close together, leaving little room for advancing. McQueen remained in last place for a bit longer than he would have preferred, struggling to grasp onto a smaller place number that would do him good. Once he moved up, however, luck stayed by his side and he progressively made his way to the top.

After a few sharper turns and the dirt portion of the track nearing, McQueen was getting closer to the front. His worries had eased away knowing that his own home turf would be up soon and he'd get to leave Francesco in his dust. The green and red formula car came into McQueen's view just before the dirt hit their tires and within moments, McQueen was ahead tenfold. Francesco's tires skid uselessly throughout the mud, his title of 3rd place slipping to last.

McQueen eyed the nearing turn, then banged a sharp right, his entire body gliding effortlessly through the left-hand turn. "Great job McQueen, jus' keep doin' what Doc told ya til ya hit the road again!" Mater advised, to which McQueen responded accordingly.

"No problem Mater!"

Francesco's tires skid as he finally hit the asphalt again, a good 10 seconds behind from McQueen's leading time. His engine hummed loudly as he sped up until he could see the bumper of the car in 7th place, then 6th...5th...4th...just about 3rd...

"Heads up Mcqueen, Francesco's comin' in hot!" Mater informed.

McQueen soaked in this information, noting it as a reality as Francesco sped up to greet him with yet another of his winning smirks before stealing the position of 1st place. The formula car's bumper was the last thing McQueen wanted to see at this moment, what with the finish line coming up so soon, but unfortunately, this was what he was forced to gaze upon. Attempting to draft, McQueen neared closer to the back of Francesco, trying to center his energy into not stressing about this upcoming close call.

A shadowy figure, his highlight outlined with the seemingly glowing spectators, watched from a nearby high rise. He listened intently to what he was being told over the phone, nearing the window and gazing into the pit-stops. His eye caught the pale blue paint of Finn, to which he nodded and responded to whom he was speaking to. "Keep careful eye..." The mysterious voice advised before hanging up. The figure quickly headed to the other side of the room, where the racers could now be seen speeding ever closer to the finish line. He flicked up a small computer screen on his side-view mirror, watching it intently before heading up closer to the window. Another second more and...

Francesco's heart was set high with the incoming glory of beating McQueen yet again. But a sudden, jarring click shot his thoughts right out of his head and within moments, his engine felt like it was ablaze. His tires skid and he swerved to the side involuntarily, his open fenders buckling under the speed. McQueen gasped and slammed on his own brakes to avoid Francesco, who struggled to keep from overturning. The formula car's right tire bent inwards too far and he was forced into the air, propelled by the forces of gravity and causing him to flip and land harshly onto the asphalt. He flipped once more, then again, and again. The finish line met both cars moments later, but not in the way they had imagined.

McQueen screeched to a halt, gazing wide eyed at Francesco, who was several yards away. The Italian racer was upside down, his front and back tires still spinning. "Francesco!" McQueen breathed, immediately driving over to his side. Francesco slowly blinked, his vision growing blurred and hazy. He groaned in pain, barely registering the blurry red bumper growing closer. "Are you alright?!" McQueen questioned with a more pressing and concerned tone. His expression fell further as the other vehicle only responded with strange, muffled sentences that were incomprehensible.

The crowds had screamed with horror in unison. Cars in the pits all paled and inched forward to see the screens showing the disaster more clearly. "Ambulances, get the ambulances!" Many were screaming, to which the emergency vehicles were quickly sent off towards the scene of the crash. The other racers were heading up, earning their spots in the next race, but not doing so as purposefully as before. As each came to the finish line, they too gazed at Francesco with fear and concern in their eyes. They were soon parted as the emergency vehicles neared and ushered away back to their pits.

Lightning rolled up, seeming shaken. "McQueen, McQueen what happened?!" Mater questioned quickly, and the red car's gaze flicked back to where Francesco had been before he entered the pits further. The ambulances' lights were barely visible in the dark distance now, heading away from the stadium to get to the hospital.

McQueen's crew kept all questions to later that night when everything died down. They had all settled into their hotel and called a meeting to McQueen's room shortly after arriving to give explanations, pep talks, and whatever else was needed to prepare for the next race the following day. Finn kept to the back, listening intently to the story and trying to find a cause of the unusual slip up Francesco had taken part in.

"He just swerved all of a sudden," Lightning explained slowly, his gaze showing he was running it all through in his head, over and over. "His axles buckled and that was that, he was flipping."

"Has the news given any more information?" Finn questioned, heading up to the front of the circle that was around McQueen.

"I saw something on the tv about an engine problem..." Fillmore brought up after a moment, and all eyes turned to him.

"Engine problem? But Francesco seemed perfectly fine," Holley interjected.

"Yeah man I dunno...I guess it must've been waaay more sinister than it looked, but...it's popular on TV sooo…"

"We'll just have to get our answers from there." Finn added in, prompting everyone else to nod and get lost in their own thoughts. His gaze flicked back up as he recalled a question. "Has Francesco ever had any engine problems in the past?"

"It's not as if I've done extensive research," Sally began, giving McQueen a side glance as to not trigger his recognition of her liking Francesco so much, "...but from what I know, he's in those commercials about eating right and staying healthy. His engine should have been in pristine condition."

Silence followed after before everyone began their 'goodnights' and 'see you in the mornings'. Finn gave Holley a slide glance as everyone began to leave the room shortly after. "This is very bizarre...a car, never having engine problems before, ending up in a crash like that?" Finn thought aloud as he headed down to his room with Holley following slowly afterwards. "It seems too suspicious to me, Francesco is known for being as healthy as he is, it just doesn't make sense..."

"Maybe it was an outside source...?" Holley put in, prompting Finn to glance back at her again. "It's like when those 'lemons' were blowing up car engines with that camera."

"You think they may be back again?" Finn questioned, and Holley shook her front bumper.

"Not specifically them again, but, maybe cars with the same intent to do what they had done years ago," Holley corrected.

Finn stopped, reversed, and turned, finally facing her properly. "You may be right. But we also may be jumping to conclusions way too quickly. There's still the chance of an engine failure in any car."After a few moments of silence, Finn drew back. "I'm going out. I'll be back before everyone leaves tomorrow morning," he told her, heading past her and down the hall again.

Holley watched him before quickly following after. "Wait-where are you going?"

"Back to the racetrack, I'm going to figure out what happened."


	2. Searching

Finn's headlights flashed on, illuminating the foreboding looking expanse in front of him. The row of pit-stops lay before him, shadowy with all their equipment not in use and parts laying here and there. Finn drew up to the first pit stop and glanced inside, turning on the camera hidden in his right headlight. He gazed at the screen on his corresponding side-view mirror, then reversed back out to check the next few pit stops for anything unusual. He took his time in Francesco's designated stop, pulling in further and inspecting everything. He drove up to the gasoline tank located in the front corner, allowing his camera to scan over it and get a read on what was inside. To his dismay, it all appeared to be normal.

Frustration nabbed his engine and he backed up a bit, looking down at the ground in deep thought. "Strange," he muttered, glancing up one more time to scan the entire pitstop. "What am I missing?"

The agent reversed out of the pitstop and glanced down the racetrack that was to his left. It stretched for miles, turning a sharp corner and disappearing behind a dark figured building. Finn squinted, beginning to slowly drive down the rest of the pit stops to follow the track. Perhaps there'd be useful information along the way.

It took Finn quite a while to round the entire track as he looked for _anything_ that could help. He glanced up as he neared the finish line, his expression shifting to that of further disappointment. He quickly rolled up to where the crash had taken place, noting how bits and pieces could be seen of Francesco's body, though small. He allowed his camera to look around, trying to get it to detect anything from the oil spilled here and there. Gritting his teeth and letting out a hiss of frustration as it all appeared normal, Finn drew his camera back into his headlight and backed up a little. "There has to be something here..." He muttered, glancing up at the building beside the finish line. He blinked then quickly headed out of the racetrack to go look inside the building. There could have been something on one of the floors.

Finn drew up to the front doors, proceeding to nudge them. They didn't open. Realizing they were locked, the agent cursed under his breath and resorted to his own methods of getting inside. He fired the glass cutter from his side view mirror at the door, watching it slowly do its work. He was granted access as the machine tapped the glass and it fell, and he wasted no time in quietly speeding inside to the first floor.

Each floor showed no signs of anything Finn found important as he searched through them. He was nearing the top floors and his patience was growing thin. On the second to top floor, Finn headed in, his gaze pricking as he noticed something to the far side. He quickly headed over to it, inspecting it with his camera. It appeared to be a chip of some sorts, which may have contained some data. It was compact and green, with little golden and silver wires running through it. A small grabbing arm protruded from Finn's right turn signal and it picked up, allowing Finn to gaze it over. He'd have to run diagnostics on this with Holley when he got back.

Glancing out the window as he retracted the chip into his turn signal, the light blue car looked over the racetrack. The finish line was in clear, and the space where the crash took place was also in sight. Where he now was would be a perfect place to construct the accident without no one seeing. "Interesting…"

Finn drove back to the front doors of the hotel, starting his return to his room on the third floor. Before he got there, he stopped at Holley's door and knocked gently. It was early enough to where everyone would be getting up soon to head to the airport to travel to Japan on Siddeley. Luckily, Finn would be able to check the chip there.

Holley opened the door a few moments after Finn knocked, still looking a little half asleep. Her eyes lost their tiredness however as she realized it was Finn. "Finn-you're back, did you find anything..?" She whispered. She paused as she noticed the tired essence in his eyes, but before she could inquire anything, Finn responded.

"Yes, I looked around the track for a while but didn't find anything of use. However, I checked in a nearby building and on just about the top floor, I found this." The small grabbing tool showed from his turn signal again, revealing the data chip. "This might be something useful. I also noticed while I was up there that there was a clear view of the finish line, where Francesco crashed. It would have been the perfect vantage point."

Holley drew in this information for a few seconds. "So there is something definitely going on, should we tell the others?"

"I'm not sure yet, I don't think we should yet, just in case this find is inconclusive." Finn responded.

"Right." Holley watched as Finn nodded and drew back a bit, the metallic arm and chip going back into its place in his turn signal.

"I'll be heading back to my room. I'll be out once everyone else is ready."

As if irony struck, Finn's gaze flicked up as he heard Mater's familiar and excited voice, surely waking everyone else from their slumber. Well...Finn could sleep on the way to Japan.

It only took everyone about a half an hour to get ready. Fillmore and Sarge had already headed down to get breakfast, while Luigi and Guido were beginning to put everyone's things near the front door of the hotel, keeping watch over them so nothing was taken. Sally, Mater, and McQueen were still upstairs when Finn came out of his room, shaking the tiredness he felt and waiting for Holley. Once everyone was ready and had eaten if they chose so, they got on the train to head to the airport. Siddeley was there on time, waiting for everyone to board once they had been checked in the terminal.

Finn and Holley were the first ones to head up the ramp, gazing over the inside of the carrier to ensure that there wasn't any dangerous equipment lying around. Once checking and deciding everything was alright, they reversed and turned around to watch everyone else drive aboard.

Mater, who was quite optimistic, got the benefit of explaining to Lightning all the secret gadgets they had within Siddeley and how the computer spoke as if it had its own mind. "Well, she technically does, and she can even generate a whole different room if ya wanted her too!" the tow truck exclaimed. Lightning nodded with interest as they pulled up into the plane and gazed around, the others following in suite. The door closed and Siddeley began his travel down the landing strip to take off. Once in the air, everyone settled and began conversing or sightseeing.

Finn neared towards the front of the plane and headed through a door where another room was concealed. He turned on the computer there, gazing at the screen for a moment before inserting the chip. Holley had followed him, watching a newer screen pop up with a few pictures. "So the chip was holding pictures..." Finn commented, clicking on the first. It appeared to be a blurry picture of Francesco near the finish line, with McQueen not far behind. The Italian racer's face was that of fear.

"This must have been right before the crash..!" Holley put in.

Finn swiped to the next picture, of which was a scan of a document. The text of the document was a bit blurry, but still readable.

 _'Flamington_

 _Delaware, Littletown_

 _Date Printed: February 9th_

 _Note: Send recruits to designated destinations. Silver will handle targets within every race. Report to final race when notified.'_

The rest of the document seemed to be written in another language...

"This is what we needed all along. Seems like someone wrote this letter and sent it to a lot more than just a few cars. They mentioned the races. And targets...in this case, that must've been Francesco. But there was more than one referred to," Finn murmured after a moment.

Holley inspected the document again, her eyes narrowing a little. "'Silver'? Who's Silver?" She questioned, and Finn's gaze turned to the name as well.

"Must be the one who set up Francesco's crash, since it says 'every race'. Him and all the other recruits seem to be meeting up in London for the final race." Finn responded, and both were silent in thought. "This means we have to keep high watch for this Silver. This could be a first or last name, so we can't look him up for an criminal records unfortunately."

"Well, at least he fumbled enough to have us see this chip. What's on the last page?"

Finn swiped so the last picture could be visible. It seemed to be scientific formulas, and different things in English were written at the top. "Gasoline, spark plug's reaction to heat, tire pressure," Finn stated the words that could be read out loud, his expression growing more confused as he finished. "What could these mean?"

Holley was just as confused as he was and she shook her front bumper. "I'm not sure. It could be listing possible contributors for the crashes?" she assumed, and Finn nodded, squinting up at the picture again.

"Probably. If anything went wrong with these parts, a crash would be inevitable," he stated. "Like you said, we must keep extra watch on the next two races. Who knows what they'll be planning next. Thankfully this is enough information for us to analyze."

Finn pulled the chip from its place after they were done looking, keeping it in a box within a drawer. He headed back out to where the others were, settling into a seat and closing his eyes slowly. "Wake me when we get there, Miss Shiftwell."


	3. Silver Spy

Siddeley landed expertly onto the landing strip in the Tokyo Airport, coming to a stop and wishing everyone a farewell as they parted. "Good luck on your race, mate!" He told Lightning in particular.

All were in the airport now, discussing what was to happen next as they waited for the announcement for the train to arrive to transport them. It was near night by now, the sun filtering through the airport's windows. "We're going to the meeting building in Tokyo to discuss the first race," Lightning explained.

Mater started, chuckling a little to himself. "That pistachio ice cream turnin', man, that's funny right 'dere." Holley gave him a side glance as he nudged her; she had heard this story several times, though she and no one else had the gall to correct Mater's misconceptions. The train arrived shortly after, of which the ride was relatively calm. Finding room for all of them in the crowded train was a bit difficult, thus splitting them up into several cars. As they arrived, they all met up and headed into the building.

As they entered, a wave of memories washed over each car at their past experiences of this place. The familiar, well known water fountain was still at its place, flowing beautifully from its mechanisms within the ceiling. The World Grand Prix's logo shone on it (thought it had been redesigned from in comparison to its previous insignia).

Lightning glanced over to the platform that would display any car that would stand on it in a strange array of color combinations against the large screen on the wall. That was the very place he met his rival, Francesco, in person. Mater, in comparison, recognized the hallway that led to the bathrooms. That was the very place where he had met Holley.

The racers were all set up in a group, to which McQueen had headed to, engaging in small talk. Televisions were up around the facility, some showing pictures of Francesco, and some showing the race, of which was playing back. Many cars were talking of Francesco as well, since his presence was dearly missed and many were still distraught. "It's a shame...maybe he'll make it to the next race?" Some were saying with hope, though many disagreed.

"I hope no other cars have to go through that, it'd be awful," Lightning commented to Miguel Camino, a friend he had been getting closer to each year.

"I agree," Miguel replied, nodding sincerely. "For now, all we can do is send our best wishes," he continued, and Lightning nodded.

"Perhaps I'll ask him, once he's feeling better. Maybe he knows what happened?" The red racer assumed, to which the other vehicle blinked, as if thinking.

"Possibly. Who knows. Only time will tell, I'm sure."

Finn was seated next to a table, where he and Holley were having a drink and enjoying the atmosphere. "It's quite different being here when we're not on a mission," Finn commented, and Holly laughed a little under her breath.

"Less stressful, don't you mean?" she responded, to which Finn chuckled as well.

"Yes, a little less stress is always good," he started, trailing off as his gaze pricked to the upper balcony. A striking silver car lie in wait, a computer screen flicked up in front of him in a similar manner that Holley's was when she used it. Finn's gaze narrowed a little as the car suddenly made eye contact with him before speeding off back towards the restroom end of the balcony. "I'll be right back." Finn said after a moment, before Holley could ask what he was looking at in the first place.

It took a few long moments, but Finn managed to make his way through the crowd of cars. He headed up the ramp as quickly as he could, then slowed at the second floor as to not hit anybody. He frowned as he saw the men's bathroom door swinging down the hall, as if someone had just entered. Concluding it must've been who he had just seen, Finn glanced around to make sure no one was watching before heading inside himself.

"...yes sir, him. He's tagging along on the races, I saw him in the pits yesterday. Yes, yes sir, I'll get it done." The silver car clicked a button on a panel under his tire to end the call before it retracted back into his hubcap. Finn's gaze widened before he froze as the car noticed him in the mirror. Whipping around, the two locked gazes for a moment. The car was striking and shiny, sleek and new. Finn recognized his model, a C-X75, and could have sworn he'd seen this car from somewhere else before.

"Back up, McMissile." The car spoke up, though Finn stayed where he was, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"How do you know who I am?" Finn countered sharply.

"Can't I know you through the news of others? I heard you're pretty well known and acquainted with some of the racers. I mean, what with your whole involvement in the races 3 years ago." The vehicle stated back, not missing a beat.

Finn frowned, not buying it.

"The real question is, why are _you_ following me? Can't I have some privacy? Or do you have your own 'business' to attend to?" The silver car continued, driving forward slightly.

Finn kept his mouth shut; revealing information, even small, could bring up suspicions.

Upon receiving no reply, the silver car spoke up again. "Yeah...if you'll excuse me, I need to get going now. I'd appreciate it if you lost the scowl."

Finn blinked a few times, moving to the side to allow him to leave. There was always the slim chance this car was really only a bystander. Though, something was telling him in the back of his head that he was viewing this all wrong. There was something strange about him...

"Thank you. And, nice to finally speak with you, McMissile, you've been my biggest fan ever since I was a kid." the other vehicle stated, passing by Finn and leaving through the door. As the car passed, Finn swore he heard him mutter something about 'too bad' but the rest of the sentence was lost to the distance between the vehicles.

Though, Finn wasn't going to let him get away that easily, he was still wary. Drawing back, Finn wheeled out of the bathroom after him, seeing the car's back bumper disappear around the corner. He headed after him, but frowned as the group of cars around the bend were in heavier groups than he anticipated. Gazing through them all as he tried to get through, Finn lost sight of the car. _'This was all so strange,_ ' he kept thinking on the way back to where Holley was. _'That car was doing something suspicious, his color was a striking silver and he mentioned the races. He knew me...'_

"Finn?" Holley spoke up as he neared, and his gaze pricked out of his thoughts and back to her.

Holley looked concerned and she watched as Finn rounded her and the table to settle himself in the empty space. "My apologizes, Miss Shiftwell. I noticed somebody up at the balcony, and he had a screen projector very similar to yours," he explained.

"Is that so?" the magenta car breathed, interest catching in her voice.

"He was silver, remember Silver from the documents? It could have been him, he was talking about the races, someone in the pits." he continued.

"Oh no," Holley breathed out.

"I can't help but feel like I'm missing the overall picture. I meant to follow him after he left but I lost him in the crowd."

Holley was quiet for a moment, though both cars' heads pricked as a voice came on over the microphone and most of the crowd turned to where the waterfall stand was. The newest sponsor of the World Grand Prix was Darrell Cartrip, a well-known spokesperson for the famous races of the world. He had been a spokesperson for most of McQueen's races as well. "Welcome, welcome everyone!" He called, earning the attention of the rest of the cars. "Why don't we just give a round of applause for all the entrants of this past race and their successes!"

The sounds of cars hitting their tires against the cold, sleek floor echoed throughout the large room, small cheers and shouts coming from different sides of the room as well. "That's the spirit! We are all very, very honored to host this special event for another year," Darrell continued, putting on a smile. He began listing the racer's names from last to first place, the crowd cheering at each one, whether they were fans of them or not.

When he got to McQueen, Mater cheered the loudest and got the attention of quite a few other cars. "Yeah McQueen! Woo!"

Next listed, who had managed to get first place, was Francesco. The room was quiet for a moment. "It is such a tragedy that this kind of thing would happen to him, and I've been given updates on his recovery." The room grew tense with curiosity and concern. "It's been revealed that this was an engine blow out, but the cause is still unknown. Some say he may be fixed in time for the next race, but some disagree. May we all give him our best wishes!"

A low but audible sound of chattering of hopeful thoughts and heartfelt concerns spread throughout the room. Lightning was pulled back into the once spoken conversation of Francesco's recovery with some of the other racers.

All the while, Finn looked down at his drink once, his own thoughts seizing him from reality. An engine blow out. That was what happened to some of the racers about three years ago. Miles Axlerod had wanted to get everyone to switch back to oil by making Allinol seem dangerous, which resulted in multiple engine blow outs. And that happened because of the camera Professor Z had ordered the lemons to use on the racers. The agent couldn't help but feel deja vu. But...this couldn't be happening again. Both Professor Z and Miles had been given life sentences in jail for multiple attempted murders and two actual murders, the real American Agent and Leland Turbo.

Finn couldn't shake it, and his thoughts were brought back into reality as someone nudged him. "Finn, thems drinks are 'fer drinkin' not for starin'!" Mater stated, and Finn laughed a little under his breath.

"Of course Mater, how silly of me."

The party continued onward for most of the night. Lightning and the others decided to leave early so the racer could sleep for his race tomorrow. Luckily, as the last hotel had been, they were all on the same floor again, which of course was convenient. Lightning and Mater got their own room together whilst everyone else each got their own. They all said their goodnights before entering their rooms. Lightning was the first one to fall asleep, which was no surprise, since he needed as much rest as he could get to be prepared for tomorrow's big race.


	4. Click

"Speed...I.." McQueen's eyes opened as thoughts blurred his mantra. He gazed up at the lights that shone red on the starting buzzer. Soon they would be green, and the race would begin. But he had to stay focused, he couldn't get phased, not now.

"You feelin' alright McQueen?" Mater asked over the headset, to which McQueen jolted, forgetting that Mater could speak to him.

"Yeah-yeah I'm alright, thanks Mater.." Lightning muttered distractedly, and there was silence over the headset for a moment.

"Don' let Francesco be worryin' you too much McQueen, you're the best!" Mater began after a few seconds.

Lightning put on a smile, glancing over to the pitstop, where he made eye contact with his friend. "Thanks..I'll try not to worry," the red car replied with a sigh, receiving a confident nod from the tow truck.

Lightning returned his attention back to the lights, which were to turn green any moment now. It felt as though everything went silent for a moment before the buzzer rang and the flag was waved, and McQueen's tires screeched as he started forward, accelerating drastically. Just 3 laps. That was all, it wouldn't be difficult. He could do this. But worry continued to nag at him slightly, something felt off and this kept his thoughts busy.

"McQueen look out!" Mater suddenly warned loudly, and McQueen's gaze pricked and he jolted as he realized he was just about to hit a barrier where bystanders were on the other side. Jerking his tires to the right, McQueen quickly and expertly righted himself, trying to gain his momentum back.

"Lightnin', ya alright? Ya almost crashed into 'em!" Mater's voice echoed through the Lightning's headset as the race car straightened his balance, taking a few deep breaths to settle himself.

"It's nothing, Mater...I'm fine," Lightning answered back, reverting his eyes back onto the racetrack. He realized, to his luck, that no cars had passed him while he had lost sense of his surroundings. Though he now felt at unease. A second late could've meant him crashing into innocent cars.

"'Ah, ya sure buddy?" Mater asked again, and Lightning nodded his front bumper a bit in confirmation as he turned another corner, resuming the usual straight track.

The shadowy figure kept his watch. A sliver of silver paint reflected on the small amount of sunset peeking through the windows. Gazing at the computer in front of him, he had a camera view of McQueen, watching the race car speed along.

Finn inspected everything intently. His gaze was locked on the large tv in the pit stop. Everything seemed to be normal…

The silver car's tire lifted for a moment as something drew up under it from his undercarriage. It was a button, fitted to fit under his tire. All he would have to do is press it...and another car would be out for good. Just one more lap…

Lightning revved his engine, increasing his speed and passing Miguel Camino, then Carla Veloso. 'Second place...!' Lightning thought, a smile forming upon his face as the feeling of determination engulfed him. All his worried thoughts washed away, and the thought of winning this race only encouraged him to push himself to get to first place. A few moments passed, and all racers were on the last lap. Whoever crossed that finish line first would win this race.

"That's it, Lightnin'! You're gonna win, you're gonna win!" Mater exclaimed in utmost joy as Lightning finally passed Shu Todoroki, marking him first in the league. The red race car squinted his eyes, now being able to see the bright white of the finish line from the distance.

A click echoed. Like the sound of ice cracking under weight, the sound that fills those standing on the ice with horror before they fall into the depths of the frigid water. This sound was what Lightning heard for a split second then...it felt like his engine was on fire. The pain shot through his engine, his tires, until it took over his whole body. His brakes slammed on suddenly and his wheels buckled backwards, hitting against his fenders as his brakes were involuntarily slammed. This forced him sideways into the wall with a sickening crash.

The sound of white noise filled Lightning's hearing and everything was now a blur, lights flashing in his vision. The feeling of the road left his tires, and his entire body was thrown upwards into the air, the distance between him and the ground only increasing. It was as if it was all in slow motion. McQueen's eyes widened in horror as his gaze met the asphalt below him.Then gravity and the force of the momentum of his speed was thrown into play, and Lightning began to turn midair. His eyes shut tightly as the ground grew ever closer before he slammed into it, hard, his fender buckling under the weight. His body flipped forward from this, and sparks of gold flashed around his body as he scraped on the racetrack. He flipped again, his hood and spoiler meeting the asphalt in the same motion. A tire shattered from impact, then another.

Shrieks and screams of horror filled the crowds. Mater felt as though his life were ending, his gaze wide in shock and his mouth gaping, as if he couldn't believe what was playing on the screen. Sally felt her engine wrench in pain and tears sprung to her eyes as she breathed out a sound of horror.

Lightning's body slowly screeched to a halt, as he was on his side for a moment before he landed right side up, completely still and almost lifeless. The golden sparks around him slowly died off and the smoke began to rise from his hood. Finn felt his engine twist in terror and he shouted out his own sound of disbelief and horror before guilt wrenched at him.

"L-LIGHTNIN'!" Mater screamed, backing up quickly and not hesitating to usher out of the pit stop, speeding his way toward the scene, and Sally followed him as well, almost passing him with speed she normally didn't use. The sound of sirens pierced and filled the air, and the emergency vehicles appeared from their designated spots, driving toward Lightning quickly and getting there before anyone else could. The others racers were still coming in fast, though they were forced to squeeze in from the sides, unable to brake or have enough space to pass the finish line all at the same time.

Time felt frozen for Mater as ambulances blocked his path to McQueen, though he shoved himself through. "McQueen-" He cut himself off, however, at the sight of his best friend. Tears welled in his eyes, and he opened his mouth to speak again, but paused as he noticed flames licking out from Lightning's crumpled hood. "H-Help 'im! He's on fire-!" He gasped, and ambulances began to shove past Mater again to assist McQueen.

"Stay back!" One of the attendant vehicles snapped at him, of which wasn't an ambulance. Mater blinked and quickly backed down, his gaze trailing to his best friend once more, or what he could see of him at least. New types of sirens emitted the air, to which two firetrucks drove up to the scene as well, hoses ready and aimed at McQueen, and unfortunately the flames were rising in size, more smoke radiating from the race car's hood and side pipes.

Finn watched stark still from the pits. He couldn't believe his eyes. Guilt had kept wrenching at him, it was that damn car again! It HAD to be the one he had met in the bathroom! He should have stopped him, he should have done something more! Gritting his teeth in anger, Finn found himself fleeing the pit stops and was gone within a few moments.

Holley only noticed once he was gone, and she glanced around for him. "Finn-Finn where are you?" She asked quickly, gazing around before heading to the back, where she didn't find him either.

Finn sped down the back roads of the area behind the racetrack. Familiar sights met him, such as the flower shop and where he had fought the Lemons all those years ago. An expression of stern anger and deep guilt laid upon his features, and the car not once slowed down, in fact only went faster at that. "It could have been prevented!" Finn hissed to himself, his gaze set forward as he continued to drive. He then braked, slowing himself so he could stop completely. Once he stopped moving, he turned his gaze up to another nearby path. This would be the ideal place for a car to leave the race without being noticed. He just wanted to see that ONE car he had met at the bathroom. If he was here, that would confirm everything.

Finn waited for much longer than he would have preferred. Nothing was getting done and the clock was ticking. He jolted in his place as he heard someone call his name, and he whipped around to find Holley speeding up to him. "Finn-Finn why..where'd...why did you come out here?" She asked, out of breath.

Finn glanced to the side, grunting quietly, then turned back at the agent as she finally neared. "I have to find him, Holley, I have to find that silver car," Finn replied, his eyes scanning the empty roads surrounding them.

Holley blinked, now concerned. "You think it's him?" she stated, earning a nod from the other agent.

"Yes. The same car I told you I had seen in the bathroom back at the conventional meeting for all the racers."

"Oh.." Holley began, beginning to back up a little. "Mater was looking for you," She continued, "He's really really upset, and he got more upset when he couldn't find you."

Finn's expression shifted and he gazed back forward, his eyebrows furrowed. "But Holley I need to..."

"Finn, he'd be gone by now, you've been here for a while and it took me forever to find you, Mater needs you."

"Very well..." The light blue agent agreed through gritted teeth, and Holley nodded, reversing and turning, beginning to head back the same way they had come from with Finn behind her.


	5. The Aftermath

The travel back was longer than it had taken Finn to get to where he was. When they got back to the pit stops, some cars were still in the crowds, some of the racers had stayed, and most importantly, Lightning's crew was still there. From where Finn was, he could see Sally trying to console Mater, and the blue agent rushed up to his side. "I'm so sorry Mater.." he began, feeling the guilt in his engine again. "This shouldn't have happened.."

Mater was sobbing, his eyes filled with tears, and he hesitantly glanced over to Finn. But that only made him cry more, and at that point Finn wasn't sure what to say. Sure, in the many dangerous missions they'd had they'd lost thousands of cars, but Finn never had to console anyone before. He always reminded himself, like he had said before, that friendship was a dangerous thing to have if you were a spy. Finn sighed, glancing over to the racetrack. Lightning wasn't there anymore, but there was a lot of water in replacement to the race car's place. Water meant one thing...

Finn's expression shifted to that of alarm. Had there been a fire?! That was an engine blowout for sure, but it must have had something to with the gasoline as well! Cursing mentally, Finn turned back to Mater at a loss. He didn't know what to do and slowly backed up, allowing Sally and Holley room to head back up.

"We should really be getting to the hospital man.." Fillmore spoke up, setting himself in reverse to turn around.

Finn flicked on his left turn signal and spoke in its direction. "Calculate the fastest route to the Tokyo Hospital." He told the computer quickly.

 _"Fastest route,"_ The computer echoed after him, and a display of a map showed up in a blue dim light. There was a red dot, which showed the hospital, and a blue dot that represented Finn himself. _"Time calculated: Ten minutes, no unusual traffic,"_ the computer spoke again, then showed a yellow trail leading from Finn to the hospital on the map hologram.

"I've got our map here," the light blue agent stated, and he backed up as well, heading toward the exit path where Fillmore had taken as well.

Everyone left almost immediately. The drive was silent and stressful, with constant weaving through traffic. Mater sped up as the hospital came into view, and he rushed into the ER section, nervously speaking to the car at the desk. "Lightning' McQueen is here! See see, we're his pit crew!" Mater told them quickly, turning so the car could get a look at the sticker with Lightning's number on it. The others headed in after him, with Sally going up to the front and giving details of what had happened.

"Alright, let's see..." the receptionist behind the desk said softly, typing in the name of the patient. "He is in room number...695," she replied, and Mater quickly turned around the desk at the left and sped down the hallway, heading to the elevator.

"Thank you," Sally told the car in make up for Mater's lack of reply, and the rest of them quickly headed down the hall after the tow truck as well. Mater pressed the button and it lit up, and he was unable to keep still as he nervously waited for the elevator to come. As soon as the others caught up, the elevator doors finally let up, a small ding echoing.

The elevator ride felt like an eternity as it slowly inched from the first floor to the second, then to the third, and the fourth..

Mater sped out of the elevator as the door opened, barely giving it time to do so. The others followed after, Finn keeping to the back. He didn't want to see what Lightning looked like, the guilt would only grow. He could have done more. That clue should have been enough.

"Gasoline...spark plugs...tire pressure..." he muttered, remembering what had been on the document on the chip he had found. If that's what the doctors said what it was, well…

Mater kept his gaze on the numbers that were aligned evenly on top of each door, his nervousness only increasing as they got closer to their designated number. 692...693...694…

Mater swallowed once his gaze landed on the number 695, and he glanced down a bit at the door itself, noting that there were papers that read "Lightning McQueen" in some spaces inside a plastic box that was built into it. "He's in here...!" The tow truck breathed, jumping up and down slightly. It was obvious he was scared, no, they all were. The last thing they ever wanted to see was the terrible image of what their beloved friend looked like…

Mater pushed the door open, quickly heading inside and preparing for the worst. He could hear everyone else entering from behind quietly as well, and the only sounds they could hear were steady beeping machines, and the low rumbling of their engines; there was also the vibration of other hospital machines and the sound of a TV playing faintly in the background.

Mater glanced at the two curtains that divided the room into two, and the tow truck wasn't too sure which one was Lightning's. "Uh..uhm, which one's his?" he asked, and Sally neared up to his side, glancing at the wall to see if there were any sign indicators of which patient was which. Though, Mater had a strong feeling that McQueen was on the left. "Lightnin'...?" Mater breathed, extending a tire out and moving the corner of the curtain back a bit as he peeked in, hoping it wasn't the wrong car. Mater gasped, his eyes widening huge and his expression falling as he saw what he didn't want to see. __

Lightning was there, propped up on top of a soft mattress. Once Mater saw those familiar blue eyes, he instantly knew he was awake. Several machines were hooked up to him, some of the wires disappearing underneath him and some connected to his sides, like pads. But that wasn't what caught Mater's attention the most...it was the damage.

Never in his life has Mater ever seen his friend in such excruciating pain. He could tell just by looking at his face and from the glassy hue that shone in his once bright blue eyes. Black tints of what was once fire was splattered all across his hood, ash and smoke almost painted-like amongst his body. There were small visible colors of a beige scattered against Lightning's sides, where his lightning bolt and the number 95 used to be. Most of his natural red paint was picked at too, though what was left was stained a darker color.

What disturbed Mater the most was the way his friend's frame was bent and crushed. His fenders were tilted inwards, not allowing room for his tires to rotate in any direction. His side pipes appeared longer than usual, but this was only due to the fact that what used to be his sides were dented in far. The pipes themselves were twisted and smoked; one was facing upwards and the other one facing sideways all the way, nearly touching his back fender. There weren't any back tires to be concealed by his fender, leaving only ash covered, scratched rims. Lightning's back bumper was destroyed as well, several parts of it bent inwards. His spoiler wasn't there anymore, and where it used to be attached showed sharp fragments. His windows had many cracks in them, and there were small cracks edging at the very tips of his windshield.

Tears sprung to Mater's eyes and he tried to keep a hold of himself, though to no avail. "Lightnin'...?" the tow truck breathed out quietly, slowly moving inside to allow the others to come in as well. The red race car flinched, startled for a moment, and then glanced up slowly at Mater. To his warmth, the red car's gaze lit up slightly, and it was obvious he was more than happy to see him. His happiness only grew as he noticed Sally head in, and the rest of his friends. Though his expression immediately faded as he squeezed his eyes shut and drew back a bit, his front tires turning inwards a bit more in pain.

As he edged in last, Finn's expression was that of horror and extreme guilt. He had never made this expression before, either. He never made friends as an agent. This feeling was new, and it was engine-wrenching. He found no words to speak either, and his mind was going in a million directions at once. This wasn't like all of the other missions, not by a long shot. His mouth was slightly open, as if he was about to speak, but he couldn't find himself saying 'I'm so sorry' or 'I could have done more' like he wanted to.

Sally slowly headed up a bit closer to the injured car, tears evident in her eyes. "Oh S-Stickers..." she breathed softly, her gaze slowly trailing over his body as she absorbed what she was seeing. She made eye contact with Lightning, who seemed to be relaxing a bit from the pain he had been stuck with moments before.

Mater and Sally stayed by Lightning's side, while Fillmore and Sarge stayed outside in the hall to talk quietly between themselves. Holley was around Mater, staying to make sure he was alright. Finn stayed near the back, gazing downwards in thought and silence. He paused however, his shaking gaze growing still as he heard a familiar voice from the curtain next to them. It didn't take him a moment to place the owner, and complete shock fell over him.

Was that…?


	6. Another Racer

Finn glanced up, taking a last look at everyone before slowly backing out, the curtain rising behind him and drooping over his head, blinding him for a moment before the curtain finally fell back to its place, wavering slightly back and forth. The agent turned around and headed up to the other curtain, hesitantly moving it to the side to take a peek inside.

"Fa male...che cosa sta succedendo laggiù.." The red, white, and green formula car was murmuring. Francesco glanced up as Finn entered for a moment, and Finn's eyes widened slightly. Francesco may not have been as badly injured as McQueen, but that didn't put him in a good state either. The metal above his eyes was bent a little down, making it look like one eyebrow was raised. His hood was dented around the middle, and one of his open fenders was still snapped. Though, he was covered in bandages and appeared to be halfway fixed up. Francesco blinked as he realized it was Finn. "You are that British agent, no? What are you doing here?"

"Yes, I am," Finn replied, wheeling in all the way so the curtain was behind him. "Wait-what are YOU doing here? You crashed in Italy," Finn started.

Francesco thought for a moment. "I was ah, brought here in case of the second race, I could have been fixed in time."

Finn's thoughts went back to McQueen's crash, and he winced at the replay of the incident. "I'm here in the hospital because McQueen crashed during the race, so we're here to see him."

Francesco's expression shifted. "McQueen? McQueen is here?" He questioned, seeming surprised.

Finn nodded a little. "The same thing that happened to you seems to have happened to him." Finn explained, though Francesco had gazed forward and seemed to be somewhat listening.

Finn blinked, silence filling between the two of them for a few moments, and he decided to cut it. "Since you're here, I've come to ask you what exactly happened when you crashed. Any specifics, such as what you felt, or if you saw anyone?" Finn questioned.

"C'era un suono cliccando." Francesco replied quickly, his gaze turning glassy before it went dull again as he looked back to Finn.

Finn took this in for a moment, trying to translate what Francesco was saying in his head. "There was..." He paused, "A click. Where did you hear a clicking sound?"

"Lo non lo so, il mio motore si sentiva come se fosse in fiamme."

Finn's expression fell as he slowly translated this in his head. _'He felt his engine was like on fire..._ ' Finn thought, frowning at the speculation. That was strange. Did he have an engine blowout? If Lightning and Francesco had the same engine problems, along with anything else that matched, it'd mean something was up for sure. "Anything else?" he questioned again.

"You said McQueen è accanto a noi?" Francesco questioned, and Finn nodded.

"Yes he's in the curtain over, but..." Finn trailed off, gazing at Francesco quietly who still seemed to be out of it.

"Dove sono le infermiere?" Francesco asked quietly, and Finn felt some sort of pity. Where were the doctors, he was asking.

"I'm sure some of them are helping McQueen right now but I'll let them know you were asking for them, alright?" As Francesco nodded, Finn drew back out of the curtain, silent in thought. Francesco was too out of it to answer too many questions, but...he said it felt like a fire in his engine, but, his engine wasn't alight. McQueen's though…

Finn turned around, heading to the other curtain and going through the side. He spotted Holley at the far side in front of him, and everyone else was in their own spots, either talking to each other or just watching over McQueen. It seemed like the racer had fallen asleep, with his half lidded eyes almost shut, though it was hard to tell.

Finn went to back up, but jolted as a car was behind him and he didn't know it. "Oh, excuse me-" he began, pausing as he got a look at who it was. It was a white car with red plus stickers on his sides, and a tray attached to his front door with various tools on it. Though, Finn recognized the make and model…

"Excuse me sir." The car spoke up, and Finn blinked at his voice. Finn gazed at him suspiciously, rolling back to allow the car to pass, to which the doctor drove up to McQueen and nudged past Mater.

The doctor gazed over Lightning, observing the damage and then inched back a bit. An audible "hm" sounded from him, and he carefully set the tray down onto a wheeled table that was set up against the wall. Once it unhooked from his door, the car took a hold of one of the tools in a grabbing arm from his tire, nearing the sleeping racer. He was about to wake him up, but paused as Lightning stirred in his sleep, his eyelids beginning to flutter open. He was looking at the floor, but once he regained a sense of his surroundings, McQueen finally glanced up, the usual pain reappearing in his gaze again. "Hello there. I'm Doctor Silting. I'm going to do a series of checks on you before I'll ask you a couple of questions."

Lightning murmured a reply, though everyone was unsure of whether it was one of confirmation or denial. The doctor pressed a lever under Lightning's mattress, to which that side began to rise up a little so he could get a look under Lightning. "Some have told me you had an engine blowout, any strange feelings? Did you hear a click of any sort before it happened?"

Finn's eyes narrowed further and he pursed his lips, rolling forward slightly. What kind of random question was that to be correct in the first place?

Lightning nodded slowly and slightly to his second question, and then he began to address to the first. "...f-felt c-cold...then i-it was b-burning..." he managed to mutter, wincing as the doctor poked around at some parts near his undercarriage with a sharp object, which seemed to have a needle and a mirror at the same time.

The doctor nodded, squinting his eyes as he checked the small mirror, viewing parts that were hard to see just from a first glance underneath. "It's common to hear a click before the engine blows out. And your engine went on fire, yes? You must've overheated..."

Finn paused a little. "Why would his engine overheat when he was perfectly fine?" He questioned, earning the gaze of the doctor.

"That's what I'm figuring out sir." He replied in a sharper tone. Finn's gaze grew cold and he turned to look elsewhere in thought. "Possible spark plug malfunction..." the doctor murmured, and Finn's head pricked again, prompting him to turn back. That was one of the things listed on the document he had seen on the chip.

"Is there something wrong with his gasoline? His tire pressure?" Finn questioned quickly, and the doctor paused for a moment, his expression unreadable.

"I don't see anything wrong with his gasoline, and the only thing with his tire pressure is that it's less than normal. But that's easily fixable," the doctor replied blankly, and he gestured to Lightning's back red rims. "And there are no tires to measure back here," he added in. Lightning sighed quietly, closing his eyes to rest for a bit. "Perhaps he was going way too fast, more than his engine could handle-"

"But it's a race," Finn cut in, narrowing his eyes as the two of them made eye contact.

The doctor looked away, tsking. "Well, then that day wasn't right for him. We're still trying to pinpoint the main cause of his crash, but if you're patient, I'm sure we can acquire it as soon as possible."

After a few more moments of cold glances, the doctor moved from McQueen to Francesco. Francesco glanced up, his gaze turning sharp. "Allontanati da me! Va via!" He stated quickly and frantically.

The doctor didn't seem to understand, but Finn's expression shifted. "If you could speak English please.." the doctor began, but Finn spoke up.

"He said, 'get away from me, go away.' I wonder why he has a problem with you..?"

"I wonder too," the doctor muttered, and Finn could've sworn he saw him shoot a cold glare at Francesco. He headed up the Italian racer, and went ahead to place the same type of tool he had used to lift Lightning's side up. But Francesco recoiled away a few inches, glaring hardly at the doctor.

"Non ti azzardare a toccarmi!" Francesco hissed again.

Lightning's gaze pricked from where it had been, looking confused. "Wow F-Francesco...you don't r-really sound yourself..." He began quietly, and Mater moved to turn around. He jolted as he backed up into the doctor by accident, and a crunching sound was heard. The doctor's taillight was crushed inwards and something flashed before the white paint with the red plus sign dissipated and a striking silver colored car was in its place.


	7. Imposter

Everyone was still and Finn's eyes widened in shock, his gaze blazing with anger. What used to be the doctor gasped, his eyes widening slightly. Francesco seemed to be as angry as Finn. "SAPEVO CHE C'ERA QUALCOSA UP! IMPOSTORE!" he screamed, hitting his front tires against the floor, and the light blue agent edged forward, revving his engine.

"Don't even think about-" Finn started quickly, but didn't get to finish his sentence as the silver car immediately reversed, braked, and spun around so fast it took Finn a moment to register what he had done, and the car sped out of the room through the door.

Finn hissed out in anger and his tires screeched as he spun around to race after him. Speeding out down the hall, Finn dodged already shocked bystanders who were somewhat out of the way from the silver car before. "Move! Doite kudasai!" Finn demanded quickly to the cars he passed, speaking Japanese in case they couldn't understand English. His gaze pricked as he noticed the bumper of the car in the distance. His grappling hooks clicked and rotated slightly in their place as he aimed for the silver car's bumper, then he fired. The grappling hooks clanged against the wall as the car sped around the corner to head to the ramps. His gaze constantly flicked back to Finn, who followed quickly behind and was managing to catch up.

Finn's tires skid as he turned the corner, looking around quickly for the door to the ramp. He just managed to see the silver car's bumper disappear around the corner of another hallway, and he found that once he turned the corner, it led to the ramp that headed downstairs. Rushing to it, Finn jolted and swerved around cars that were already coming up, still shocked from their brief encounter with the silver car already. Once he reached the first floor, the silver car made a break toward the doors, ramming into them and sending them flying open. Finn's eyes widened as he saw that it was dark outside and pouring rain; he could even hear the sound of raindrops echoing loudly just as the doors swerved open, and he sped outside as well. He wasn't going to let this car slip out of his grip again.

Rain began to blind his vision within seconds. Finn's eyes narrowed so he could see more clearly, and he could just barely see the car's brake lights in the distance. Luckily, not many cars were out, but this car was FAST. His max speed must have been 200, while Finn himself could go just under 150 gunning it as hard as he could. Gritting his teeth in annoyance, Finn aimed his grappling hooks again and fired, and this time, he just barely caught hold of the car. One hook slipped off, but Finn slammed into reverse, his body jerking as the car continued to move for a few more moments.

The silver car jolted as he was suddenly stopped and began sliding backwards in the mud. He grit his teeth, thinking quickly. Pausing, he stopped resisting and began to back up instead. In the moment of this movement, his tires skid in the dirt as he spun himself around and gunned his engine, heading towards Finn now. Finn's eyes widened and he slammed himself into reverse, unhooking his grappling hooks from his body. The silver car slammed himself to a stop, his sharp, icy silver eyes centered on Finn's. It was silent for a few seconds as the two gazed at each other. "McMissile." The car started, and before Finn could ask anything, the car rushed towards Finn straight on again, wasting not a moment to ram him from the front. The silver car slammed into Finn's face hard now, the sound of crunching metal echoing throughout the air in the rain.

Finn found himself spinning from the impact, and in this motion he drew out his gun so he could fire when he stopped. His tire twisted and he managed to stop, but before he could do anything, he was slammed from the side. Groaning out in pain, Finn's eyes squeezed shut as his tires spun rapidly to try and get away. The silver car's eyes had no fear, and he continued to gun it. Finn's eyes flicked open as his tires managed to get traction on the slick road and he happened to get away, turning and firing his gun, the bullets striking the silver car quickly.

Finn's eyes widened huge, however, as he witnessed the bullets bounce off the silver car's body without going through him. Every time a bullet touched his frame and side, it clanged off clean, and a blue pulse of light flashed softly around his entire structure. Catching his reaction, the silver car couldn't help but smile and laugh, skidding to a stop, dirt splashing up his lower sides. "Those bullet's won't harm me, McMissile! In fact, nothing you have will hurt advanced machines like me."

Finn's gaze paused as his name was spoken again. "Where do you really know me from?" He hissed out, and the silver car laughed.

"Allow me to introduce myself Finn, my name is Sterling Silver, and I get to be the agent to bring your sorry self to the boss for extermination." He replied, suddenly drawing a gun on Finn in a similar manner. Finn's eyes widened and he slowly began to back up, trying to think quickly on how to act.

A red laser split into thin air, it's dot pinpointing against the other agent's grille. Finn gasped, setting himself into reverse and proceeding to quickly drive out of the way. The gun fired.Finn was stilled as his tire was destroyed, and his blazing gaze turned fearful as Sterling neared, a smug grin on his face. "How you feeling old man? Feeling your years against a car like me yet?" He sneered out, and Finn tilted his tire to release the small bombs he had, but Sterling aimed his gun in that direction, the gun clicking as it loaded. "Feel free to show those if you'd rather blow up."

Finn was silent in thought, coming to a realization that there was nothing to do; he was backed into a corner. He could draw his gun, but he'd be shot on sight. He blinked, however, in realization. The light blue agent grit his teeth, then paused and quickly flicked on his left turn signal to warn Holley through his transmitter. Through the pouring rain, Sterling was unable to see the small light's flickering motions, and while Finn would not speak, he hoped that Holley would hear Sterling instead.

"You're honestly a waste of time, McMissile." Sterling started, his gaze cold. "You used to be a great agent. And yet, I took you out in a matter of minutes, how funny is that?" he continued, chuckling to himself as he said this. "My boss will be happy to have you right where he wants you."

Finn kept his gaze straight on the silver car's. But he knew better than to ask questions. Sterling was silent for a few more moments before his gun drew back into his side, and another appeared. It appeared to be similar, but what he said next confirmed Finn's suspicions that it wasn't the same. "Sweet dreams, McMissile." A click sounded, and a smoky gas came from it in Finn's direction. As Finn was enveloped in it, he began to cough and draw back. But as he did, Sterling only grew closer, a smile rising up on his face. Finn's vision slowly began to grow dotted and his coughs slowly grew weaker before he fell unconscious.


	8. The Capture

"Oh no-Mater, listen..!" Holley breathed out upon hearing what Finn had managed to send. It was loudly raining, and she could hear a voice speaking, then, Finn sounded like he was struggling and coughing.

Mater drove up next to her, listening to her replay it. "Dad gum...Finn's in trouble..! Whadda we do?" He replied quickly.

The hospital room had a few concerned doctors inside, still trying to calm Francesco who continued to shout in Italian, and McQueen, who kept asking for silence. Sally was trying to calm Lightning and help him rest, and Mater had been talking to Francesco upon being called when Holley received the transmission.

"We go find him," Holley stated, her and Mater making eye contact after the audio finished.

"But what about them-"

"They'll be alright, Sally is helping Lightning and the doctors are helping Francesco," she continued, and the tow truck bit his lip.

"I guess, al'right," he agreed, and quickly headed to Sally and the others. "Holley an' I gotta leave - somethin' happened to Finn and we gotta save him!" he informed, and everyone gasped to the news.

Lightning opened his eyes slightly at the sound of it, and he glanced over to the tow truck. "M-Mater..." he breathed quietly, bringing the attention of his friend. "B-Be careful out there..please.."

Mater nodded in determination and glanced at Holley, who nodded back that they could leave.

Finn felt himself take in a ragged breath as he gained consciousness once more. It was pitch black all around him, and when he went to move, he found his tires strapped down tightly. Tugging on them hard, Finn hissed out in pain as a sharp pain flared into his axle. He stopped moving and his gaze pricked as he heard something outside of where he was. The room suddenly flashed bright and Finn instinctively shut his eyes. Upon opening them, his gaze landed on two cars, one of which was familiar, while the other was not.

Sterling Silver was there, giving Finn a cold but amused expression. Beside him was an orange car that Finn recognized as a McLaren P1. Another newer model.

"Good job, Sterling. You've done the job right," he chuckled, and Sterling nodded in response.

"So, Flamington, what do you think?"

Flamington looked over Finn for a few more moments. "You're the one causing all this trouble for Sterling, eh? Dumb old car...should've hit your mileage limit by now."

Finn kept his mouth shut. His training told him to not outburst with answers right away, in case it could give him more answers. The talkative ones always got killed right away, so it was best to be silent. Finn only kept his icy gaze on them, though it still managed to blaze with anger and the heart of his guilt.

"Well, at least he's out of the way. The rest of your job should go smoothly," Flamington stated, side glancing at Sterling. "The boss will be here shortly; he's tending to some business. In the meanwhile, you," he continued, now addressing to Finn, "try to enjoy your last hour of life. Not even I know what's being planned for you," he finished.

"Maybe it's an engine blowout?" Sterling whispered, and the two of them started snickering, backing up to the side and heading out the same way they came in.

Finn narrowed his eyes, gritting his teeth. As soon as they left, his engine revved with effort and his tires screeched against straps. He had to get out of here, but if…

Finn's movements slowed and he relaxed himself back down. If he waited to see who the boss was, he could get pictures, and if he got pictures he could send them to Holley, who then could get more information and the police. Sighing as this seemed to be his only option, Finn grew still. Though, he paused and tried to bring up his gear. His gun wouldn't show. He had no weaponry in his tires and, worst of all, considering his recent plan, his headlight had been snapped and his camera was gone. At least his radio was still in tact…

Finn took this time to look around. The room he was in was large, the walls were brown and it looked to be metal in some parts. The floor was metal as well, with pleats in it that spanned its entire length. The contraption he was caught in was the exact same as the American agent, Rod Torque Redline, had been captured in, though the light blue agent wasn't aware of this. Above him was a large magnet that hung from the ceiling, albeit where he had been hanging before they had strapped him in to where he was. To his left were some boxes and something covered under a sheet, and to his other side, there were car parts laying about. It was as if a lot of cars had been killed here already...

Gazing back down at the straps holding him to the machine, he tugged on them again, thinking nervously to himself. His radio was gone, his weapons were gone, and this made him feel more on edge. Maybe Holley had heard the message? That was all he could hope for at least.

Holley's wheels screeched as she gazed at her side view mirror. A blipping dot was shown on the map; she had managed to track Finn to this location. It had been quite the drive and had taken her and Mater nearly an hour to get where they were, despite going as fast as they could. And yet they were still far.

Mater was panting heavily, almost looking like he was about to faint. "Ugh...dad-gum..how much longa' till we..uh, get there..?" he breathed, his tongue lolling out of his mouth.

"Not too long, Mater," Holley replied, her gaze constantly switching from the map and the grass in front of her. There were tire marks in the mud, which was odd due to the fact that this was in the middle of nowhere. It appeared to be an abandoned city in fact, and they were at the edge of a shipyard, the ocean right by them. But, there were no ships, and the building before them looked rundown and old. It looked to be falling apart, with the front door being large and wooden, and somewhat hanging open already. Holley would have dismissed it as just a regular shipyard building, but she could see the muddy tracks lead into it, and there were lights on inside, visible through the night and rain.

"Mater...I think he's in here..." Holley whispered, eying the building warily.

The tow truck blinked, hesitant to believe it, and he nodded slowly, his front lower bumper almost grazing the damp ground. "So uh..we ought'ta head in there...?" he questioned, earning a nod of approval by the other agent.

"Yes...and remember Mater...silence is key to us not being spotted...as long as we're both quiet we'll be able to find Finn quickly rather than dealing with all of the cars at once," the magenta car informed, beginning to slowly drive forward.

"What if there's cars guardin' the buildin'...?" Mater asked behind her, glancing around their surroundings to make sure they weren't being followed.

"Well...just pull out your guns then, if they're a threat, we can handle them." Holley whispered back to him, her gaze turning back forward as she gazed at expansive doors ahead of them.

Finn's gaze flicked up as he heard voices from far away. Sterling and Flamington... The silver car's form slipped around the hallway's edge, a smirk on his features at Finn's expression. "Annoyed old man? Sorry the boss isn't here yet, he's still a little busy setting up your demise. Might as well make it a show, no? For someone as special as you of course, he's got quite the problem with you."

Finn kept his narrowed gaze locked on the car, but it switched over to Flamington as the orange vehicle appeared next to Sterling from the hallway's edge as well. "You know, it seems like you and the boss have known each other for quite a while...what did you do that was so cruel to make him want revenge? Or, better yet, want you to leave this world in blistering ways?" He chuckled as he rolled to a stop.

"Hey, don't take it personally from me, but," Sterling started, his gaze cold as he edged closer to Finn. "I think it'll just be cool to see you die."

Holley winced at the large door as it creaked open, before she slowly slipped inside and allowed Mater to pass her. "Alright Mater...keep your guns out, I know you don't want to shoot anyone but Finn's in danger, if anyone poses a threat we'll have to get rid of them..."

"Well...sure Holley but don't ya think takin' a life is a little too much...?"

"Mater...we talked about this-oh...shh..!" Holley cut herself off as she heard a voice, and she quickly hid behind a corner, motioning for Mater to do the same. The shadow of a car could be seen down the hallway, and his voice grew closer.

"He should've thought twice before getting in my way of work a second time. Well too bad for him, the road is over and he's met his dead end. He'll get what he deserves..." the voice echoed, only growing louder as it came closer and closer.

"Yes, yes indeed. Who was the one who caught him again...? I keep forgetting, sorry-"

"You're too forgetful. It was one of my on-task agents..." the voice began to fade, and Holley quickly poked her front half out from where she and Mater were hiding to take a look at who it was. Luckily, she managed to grasp a view of their back bumpers. A dark faded green of a car and another black car driving alongside him disappeared around the corner. Unfortunately, if Holley knew them, she was unable to see their faces.

She drew in what they were saying for a moment before quickly heading out from hiding. "Alright Mater, I'll try and contact Finn, you keep looking around..!" She instructed.

Mater had his gun out, though he looked hesitant to use it if he needed to. "Holley, what if I run into somebody?" He asked quietly, though Holley didn't respond as she tried to radio in to Finn.

"Finn-Finn can you hear me? Over.."

Sterling's gaze pricked as Finn's left turn signal began flashing inconsistently, a crackling voice coming through, but it was filled with static at the loose signal. Finn's gaze widened and Sterling looked back up to the agent's eyes again. "It's a radio-it's a radio! You were calling someone here!" Sterling began angrily, realizing what Finn had been attempting to do in their fight.

"No! There could be agents everywhere now! Who knows who he contacted?!" Flamington spoke up quickly.

Sterling narrowed his eyes, now becoming extremely suspicious of their surroundings. "We have to warn the boss," The silver car stated, and flicked his gaze at Flamington as the orange car revved his engine.

"Yeah, you do that while I make sure HE doesn't escape. They could be behind that wall already knowing where he is," Flamington interjected, gesturing with a turn of his tire toward the wall next to Finn.

Sterling hesitated, but finally nodded, seeming like he wanted to argue back. "Fine," he replied, and quickly sped off toward the exit. However, just as he turned, Sterling's eyes widened as he registered a car driving toward him, and he braked hard, his tires screeching against the floor. "Oh-Mr. Axlerod."


	9. This Might Hurt A Little

Finn's eyes widened heavily. It was Miles! He was part of this?! Finn's thoughts began to race heavily but they broke as Sterling spoke up again. "Sir, this car has radioed to other agents, we have to be careful, they could be anywhere."

Miles' gaze sharpened as he turned to look at Finn, his blue gaze cold. "Figures you would call in," he started, turning to the silver car before him. "Sterling I told you to disable his radio system."

Sterling stalled for a moment. "Yes, but I-"

"Enough, we'll just kill him first. Everything's almost ready. You, Finn, got quite in my way. Might as well make your death one to remember. Not that YOU'LL remember it, but maybe those agents with you will." Miles broke in, now looking back at Finn with a dreadful smile.

Flamington chuckled, glaring at Finn before looking back normally at Miles. "So, what did you have planned for him anyways sir? By the looks of this room it seems like this may just be it."

Miles gestured a little to the left of Finn, where something was covered with old looking sheets of some sort. "This is half of what will kill you." Miles began, starting to drive over to it. Finn gazed at him silently, waiting anxiously to see what it was.

Flamington spoke up first though. "What you didn't know is that while you were out, we uh," He paused to laugh under his breath, "..tweaked some things with your engine. Your spark plugs have been loosened. Those loose parts, once put under enough stress, will do just as they are supposed to, but with an exponential increase in chance of death. They'll spark, yes, but when they're loose, they'll ignite in places they aren't supposed to. Once those flames hit your gasoline, you're as good as gone."

"According to Bernoulli and McQueen, they were able to hear a click right before the incident, which confirmed my suspicions." Sterling broke in, heading up as well and giving Finn a look of confidence. "That click is your spark plugs snapping out of place. A few seconds later, you'll feel quite the pain, I'm sure."

Flamington spoke up again. "Tweaking them on the racers wasn't much of a bother either, the wrong kind of gasoline does horrors to the engine, let me tell you. Enough to snap parts such as, I don't know, the spark plugs out of place."

"But-I scanned the gasoline at the track, it was fine..!" Finn broke in outloud, though, he wished he'd kept it to himself.

"Oh did you?" Sterling replied briskly. "We've found ways to cover this stuff up easily. Your old technology couldn't possibly figure it out."

"We just switched the gasoline at the tracks, it was no big deal, really." Flamington muttered as a side comment, heading up to Finn's side. The blue agent jolted as Flamington flipped a switch on the floor and his back tires began spinning. His speedometer read 20…,50…,70…, then evened out from there. Finn could hear his engine revving evenly and felt fear grip his whole body. "Oh, don't worry, we won't speed you up too much yet. There's still one other thing Mr. Axlerod wanted to do."

Finn failed to keep his posture controlled, and it was now evident by his expression that he was losing confidence.

Holley, as she had been doing for a minute now, continued snooping around strange looking areas of the room, careful as to not making her presence known amongst unwanted cars. She jumped as the sound of a few cans echoed in the air and she immediately spun around, ready to fire, but lowered herself as she realized it was only Mater. The tow truck bit his lip, sinking low to his chassis and chuckling nervously. "Ah..sorry 'bout that..." he apologized, his tire recoiling away from the fallen cans of empty oil.

"Mater-you HAVE to be quiet..!" Holley whispered sharply, promptly turning back around and listening intently. Finn wasn't answering his radio, something bad must have been happening. Her GPS had stopped working within the confines of the building, so she and Mater were forced to look around. Her gaze pricked as she heard someone, and she drew her gun up quickly. A car rounded the corner, freezing as he noticed them before his tires screeched as he went to turn around. Holley shot at him, a bullet hitting his tire, then his door, and then his windshield.

Mater watched with wide eyes as the car grew limp before he backed up a little. "Holley, what if he-"

"C'mon Mater, we have to go get Finn," Holley broke in, inspecting the car before speeding by.

Mater blinked, slowing down a bit as he passed by the car. He gasped as he saw black liquid flowing from the car's windshield. "H-His eyes-!" he half shrieked, earning a shush from Holley who was up ahead.

"Mater, come on!" She whispered and the tow truck speedily rushed over to her, glancing from side to side nervously.

 _'Dad-gum...dead car, dead car...'_ he thought, shivering at the fact that there really was a car that was alive moments ago behind him. _'At least it wasn't me..who killed 'em...'_ Mater continued to think, trying to distract himself from his thoughts by focusing on his surroundings more.

Holley's gaze remained suspicious as she listened. Voices were faint, but she couldn't tell who they were. She turned back to Mater, who was following behind her silently, his hook just about dragging on the cold ground. "Mater, c'mon," she pressed.

Mater opened his mouth to reply, but jolted as a car came around the nearby corner, a gun at his hubcap and a fearless expression on his face. Holley's gaze flicked back forward with shock, and the car fired without a second in between. Mater heard Holley cry out in pain as he squeezed his eyes shut. "Shoot!" He cried, his gun lighting up with bullet casings as it fired rapidly in the enemy's direction.

The car immediately threw himself toward cover, but a scream of pain came from him, confirming the gun's success. Mater flinched at the loud noises, only imagining the worse as he backed up and stopped as he bumped into a wall. "I'm sorry!" he yelped, his eyes squeezed shut hard and the bottom of his front bumper pressing against the floor. His gun began to slow its spinning, the bullets now stopping. The tow truck slowly opened his eyes, glancing around for a moment. He gasped as he spotted Holley, who was backing up a few feet away, aiming at where the enemy had hidden. She was leaning onto her right as she moved, a hole formed in her side.

"Holley..! Are you okay?!" He gasped, quickly driving up to her. Half of him was still listening for the other car, but seconds in the future he would find his target to be deceased.

Holley replied with a nod of her front side, giving him a side glance. "I'm fine, Mater, don't worry about me..we have to get to Finn, and quickly. Every second we waste could be...he could be..." She drew off her sentence a little, quickly getting into gear and driving quickly through the halls once more.

By now, Finn was continuing to have trouble keeping his composure straight and his pained sounds to himself. Flamington and Sterling watched him with cocked eyebrows and smirks on their faces. "What's wrong McMissile? Does something hurt somewhere?" Sterling taunted in a motherly tone, though he was quickly shushed by Miles.

"Alright, it's time to get down to business," Miles said, a mischievous grin crawling up his features. He began to drive up to the object that was hidden under the sheets, his grin growing wider. "I bet that you recognize this?"

As he finished his sentence, Miles pulled the sheets off. Sitting there was the very camera that was used to crash the racers all those year before. Finn's eyes widened, now feeling more intimidated. Sterling nudged up a tank of the all too familiar Allinol to Finn's side, allowing it to clip on and flow into his gas tank. "This'll help heat things up." He snickered, and Miles wheeled the camera up until it was directly in front of Finn. Finn's gazed flicked up to it, the fear in his eyes turning to terror.

Miles took no time to waste in flicking the camera's lever up to the 50% mark, his grin only widening. "I won't put it on full power, maybe just up to 75% in a little bit. I still want to see you die from the spark plug malfunction."

Mater glanced to the side as they left the room, catching a glimpse of where the other car had hidden. He could see his rear bumper, and he wasn't moving. Was he dead...? The tow truck looked away, rather not wanting to know. "Do ya think we're closer to Finn...?" he asked Holley in a whisper, earning what seemed like bodily shrug from her.

"I'm not sure..." She murmured back, slowing down a bit as they reached another corner in the next room.

Holley's eyes widened as she saw more cars, prompting her to reverse and turn to Mater, whispering. "Alright Mater, there's a lot of cars looking for us and we need to get rid of them, okay..?"

"But-"

"For Finn, Mater, we have to get Finn out of there, and who knows what else they're planning? They hurt me, and Francesco, and-"

"I know I know...! But killin' seems so bad...!"

"Mater they almost killed McQueen...!" She whispered back a little more forcefully, prompting Mater to sigh and wilt a little.

"I know...I know 'dat but..."

"C'mon Mater, it's now or never," Holley tried assuring, turning back forward as Mater only responded with a conflicted sigh.

It hurt more than anything he'd ever experienced. Every single click Finn thought he heard spread terror through what most likely remained of his engine. Miles, Sterling, and Flamington all watched him shift in pain with twisted grins on their faces. Finn drew in heavy breaths as he could feel heat spreading down his body. His front tires shook and his back tires only sped up as Sterling flicked the switch up higher. Miles' sneer grew as Finn let out a groan of pain, unable to keep his determined demeanor and leaving it to fall to that of agony.

"I thought this day would have never come," Miles cooed, wheeling a few inches forward, his eyes never leaving Finn's. "But looks like I was wrong. I've got everything I need. Money, power, victory." The dark green car reversed back to where he originally was, side glancing at Flamington and Sterling before looking back at Finn. "Revenge," he sneered, venom dripping from his voice. Wheeling backwards, he neared the camera again, his grin rising as Finn opened his eyes. "Think you can take more McMissile?" He hissed out, clicking the camera's power up to 75%.

Finn shouted out a 'no', but he was cut off as the pain flared up further. He wailed out and clenched his teeth, his eyes squeezing shut and his body shaking. Sterling sped Finn's wheels up more until his speedometer read 120 mph. A flaring pain coursed through the blue agent's engine, and upon getting a glimpse at his hood, Finn noticed smoke starting to rise out from the edges. Clenching his teeth, the agent struggled to keep in his exasperated pants. His mind wandered over to what happened earlier, when he had attempted to send a signal to the others. Had they ever received it...?

Sterling snickered and glanced at Flamington. "Looks like the old timer doesn't have it in him anymore, haha!" He sneered, and Flamington laughed along with him. "What's wrong old man? Does it hurt too bad?"

Miles shushed them again, drawing in Finn's sounds of agony. He was listening carefully for the click that would end Finn's life.

Holley nudged Mater forward from where the two were hiding behind a wall. They could see a guard, his gun up and his gaze unwavering as he searched for the cars Finn had called.

"I'll take him out," Holley whispered, raising her gun and steadily pinpointing it at the enemy. Once he was in range…

Mater winced, now knowing the bullet wasn't with them anymore, but inside the guard's body. The bang made his ears ring, and he was sure that every time he heard a bullet he had lost some of his hearing. After checking for any other unseen vehicles, Holley gestured for the tow truck to follow. The two of them passed by the dead car, and Mater found it difficult to ignore it.

"Over here..." Holley said back to him quietly, hiding behind yet another wall of boxes.

Frowning, the tow truck tilted to the left a bit, his eyes flicking to the ceiling. His face was that of confusion and curiosity. "Ya here dat..?" he questioned, to which Holley side glanced at him. She didn't ask him what, and instead tried to hear what he was hearing too. That sounded like...

Finn drew in sharp breaths, pained tears brimming at his windshield's edges. It felt like he couldn't breathe anymore. It felt like his insides were ablaze. It felt like he was going to die at any moment. He'd been through torture before in his line of work, but this was the most brutal. The smoke licked at the edges of his hood, his engine's vibrations causing his body to shake. "Let's end this." Miles spoke up, grinning wider. This was it. The moment he'd been waiting for ever since everything had failed those years ago.

Finn's rapid breathing only grew and his voice shuddered as he drew in a breath. "No..!" He begged out, being drawn even to his lowest to beg for life.

"Oh, what was that?" Miles said, drawing back his tire that had been inches away from pressing the lever again. "Are you asking for mercy?" he questioned, to which Flamington and Sterling laughed. "Perhaps you should've thought about that before ruining my work of getting all the racers killed. Everything would've been fine, but you chose this path for yourself, McMissile, and now it's time to embrace it," He growled firmly. Finn managed to shake his front bumper from side to side in denial, more steam evaporating from his hood as his tears dried from the heat.

Sterling laughed at the side, driving up beside Finn and nudging him. "C'mon old man, do it again! I want to remember this, the great Finn McMissile begging for mercy!"


	10. Fight

"He's not the only one that's going to have begged for mercy!"

Finn's gaze snapped open as Holley's voice shouted through the door. It suddenly slammed open and Mater appeared, Holley right behind him, with their guns up high.

Miles' eyes widened and he turned to them, his gaze flashing with rage. "Get them!" He demanded to Sterling and Flamington. His tire pressed down onto the camera's lever, flicking it down to 100%. Finn didn't have the time to even draw in a deep breath before a huge flare of pain scraped at his insides, and this time his thoughts of pain became vocal.

Mater's eyes widened as Finn's scream of agony met his ears, and he gasped at the sight of Sterling and Flamington speeding towards them. "Mater, get Finn out of there! I'll handle these two," Holley instructed, her gun raising at Sterling. She clicked the trigger, but was in shock as Sterling didn't even flinch upon contact. He was bullet proof...

Remembering that he wasn't, Flamington avoided her and headed towards the tow truck, which seemed to be an easier target judging by the look on his scared face.

"Oh dad gum...!" Mater breathed out, his pupils flicking nervously from Finn and Flamington before his tires screeched as he rushed to the camera. Flamington's eyes narrowed and he increased his speed further, feet away from Mater. Mater's tire brushed the front of the lever as he began to push it down to zero, but he gasped as Flamington rammed him from the side, the two sliding and disappearing in the smoke that was formed from quickly moving tires from both cars. Luckily, due to Mater's intervention, the power of the camera had been decreased to 50%, but to Finn, nothing had changed.

Holley began to take the same approach Flamington had to Mater, her tires screeching as she sped forward. The two rammed each other, with Sterling just barely catching Holley on her side and causing the magenta car to twist sideways. Grunting in frustration, Holley tried to shove him back, her eyes widening as she spotted Miles rushing back over to the lever. She raised her gun once more, but was thrown off aim as Sterling rammed her against the wall. However, she fired at the same time, and the bullet struck one of Mile's tires, to which he slid away from the switch.

"No! Kill her, just kill them!" Miles screamed, hitting his breaks to stop so he could crawl back to finishing Finn off.

Mater's courage to shoot the enemy was completely lost now. He was too overwhelmed by everything. His main focus was freeing Finn, but this orange car was being stubborn with him. "You're not going anywhere," Flamington growled as he pulled back, narrowing his eyes at the brown vehicle.

Mater blinked, making eye contact with him. "Yer' right!" he replied, much to Flamington's confusion. "I'm not goin' anywhere. But YOU are!"

Without giving Flamington a chance to react, Mater swung his tow cable upwards, watching as it looped over a bar from the ceiling and slithered toward Flamington's rear. It hooked underneath Flamington's backside, and the orange car gasped in shock. He was pulled up high into the air, swinging from side to side. And as he began to rise from the force, Mater unhooked his cable, watching as Flamington flew to the other side of the room, screaming.

Miles inched closer and closer to the lever, but Holley wasn't willing to watch her friend die. She slammed into reverse and aimed her tasers, firing them in the blink of an eye. Sterling had no time to react as he turned back forward, the metal bits making contact with his hood. He stopped in his place, his body wracked with spasms as the electricity coursed through him. His tires buckled under him and his gaze grew half-lidded as Holley retracted the tasers, turning to Miles now. "You will NOT kill him!" Holley spoke harshly, more emotion in her voice than she'd ever felt. She was scared out of her mind, but determined to save her friend. She slammed herself into gear, speeding towards Miles.

Miles jolted as he realized Sterling was incapacitated and Holley was heading for him. He gasped and futilely tried reaching further to the lever, but was unable to flick it back up before Holley slammed into him. "Get away from me you idiot!" He snarled out, his tires screeching against the floor as he tried to push Holley away. But, his deflated tire, along with him being not so naturally strong in combat, led him heading towards the wall against Holley's pushing.

Once Mater untangled and retrieved his tow cable, he sped toward the lever, hoping he could end Finn's pain. As soon as he switched it off, the machine's sound, of which had blended into all the other commotion, stopped abruptly. It's silence was comforting at first, but Mater felt this comfort slip as Finn continued to scream. Why hadn't it ended?!

"Finn!" He called, quickly glancing around to make sure all threats were dealt with or being dealt with; Sterling was still held still by the electricity and Flamington was across the room, flipped over onto his top. Holley was keeping Miles at bay, so Mater rushed over to the machine Finn was strapped too, wincing heavily as his crying only continued. Slamming the button next to the lever that had been used to speed Finn up, the mechanism keeping Finn moving slowly shut off, his speed decreasing with it. "It'll be okay Finn..! I shut it off!" He declared, his gaze turning back to the agent.

Mater's heart sank. Finn's eyes were filled with tears; he was still choking out cries of pain, panting violently. There was so much smoke coming out of the blue car's hood, and what seemed to be oil was leaking out of his undercarriage and...Mater bit his lip, inching back a bit in fear. Not only was Finn leaking oil from under his body, but it was coming out of his mouth as well.

"Finn..!" He breathed out, driving around to the agent's front. He could mostly see through the smoke, which wasn't dissipating in the slightest. But smoke meant one thing, and that was fire. "Finn-Finn, what hurts, we gotta get you fixed up!"

"No!" Miles broke in, struggling against Holley. Holley slammed him against the wall, denting his sides and causing sparks as he tried to go the opposite way. Suddenly drawing back, in a swift movement, Holley held up her gun again, aiming squarely at Miles' face. Miles froze, his gaze on the muzzle of the gun. "You wouldn't." He snarled out.

"Oh, I certainly would. I've killed many with this gun and it won't be difficult to do it again. Think wisely," Holley answered, glaring at him fiercely. "All of your cars are down and you have no self defense. It's over, Miles Axlerod." __

Mater wiggled impatiently, watching as Finn's back tires slowed their spinning by the second. Once they were completely still, the brown truck inched forward and nudged Finn to get him to move out of the machine.Finn groaned out in pain as he was touched, and the first thing Mater noticed was how horribly warm Finn was to the touch. It was as if someone had forced him out in the sun all day long, like he was going to catch on…

"Fire...!" Mater breathed out his thoughts and remembered the smoke still flowing from under his hood. "Finn-are ya on fire?" He asked quickly, though Finn was unable to reply. Mater was unsure whether he should open the old car's hood, but did so hesitantly, his mouth gaping at what he saw.

Holley's eyes narrowed at Miles as the green car saw his final words were nearing. "At least we accomplished one thing. Finn will die. And there's nothing you can do."

Mater tilted his tires inwards, not sure on what to do. He had to put out the fire...but there was no water nearby…

Wait.

The tow truck blinked, an idea coming to his head. "Holley! Isn't it still rainin'? I can take Finn outside! It'll cool him off! And put the fire out!"

Holley watched the smile on Miles' face slightly fade, which encouraged her to offer a smile of her own. "Good idea, Mater! Get him outside, quickly!" she ordered, noticing that the room was starting smell of smoke.

Miles narrowed his eyes, wheeling forward a bit. "No-you can't, he's already as good as dead!"

"You really think you'll be able to fight us by yourself?" Holley retorted.

Miles blinked, side glancing for a moment before grinning widely. "He can."

Holley jerked to the side, yelping as a streak of silver flashed against her. It was Sterling. The silver car skid until he was facing Holley, his gun already aimed at her. The magenta car cried out in pain as a bullet shattered against her side, then her side view mirror was clean off seconds after. She aimed her taser gun again, and for a moment, Sterling stalled before he quickly shot her tire, and it made a sharp sound as the air escaped it, leaving it unable to aim. The silver car grinned at her, wheeling back slightly and rounding her.

Mater had turned at Holley's cry of pain, his eyes widening and realization dawning on his features. He would have to kill Miles himself. He watched the green car inch towards the camera's lever again, his gaze incredibly nervous. Pulling out his gun, he aimed at Miles' hood. The least he could do was offer an apology. "I'm sorry, Miles! But I got to!" Mater screamed, and both Miles and Sterling shifted their gazes at him.

The green car blinked, true terror seizing him from the tires. "Wait-!"


	11. Cooling Down

Sterling's eyes were wide as he stared at Miles' lifeless body. He slowly drew back, his gun clicking back in its place as a look of shock was spread across his features. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to speak, and his gaze trailed to the oil leaking from under Miles's body from his engine. A bullet wound had shattered through the Range Rover's hood, smoke coming from the remains of his grille. The silver car reversed back from Miles, staring at Holley and Mater.

"I-..." He stammered out a little, his gaze flicking between the two of them.

Mater's eyes narrowed, but he turned back to Finn, the anger dripping from his gaze to mild panic, fear, and concern. "It'll be okay Finn it'll be okay-we're gon' get you outside..." As he said this, Mater reversed and turned around fully, lowering his tow cable to hook it under Finn's front bumper. Finn flinched as the hook caught hold, though he only gave out a small sound of pain. "Okay...here we go Finn…" Mater said quietly, beginning to drive forward slowly with Finn trailing behind him. The light blue car was wheeled off the machine, and Mater began to head for the open doors. He paused, however, glancing at Holley and Sterling.

"Don't worry Mater, I'll be alright," Holley told him, turning to Finn. "It's Finn who needs help right now."

Mater gave a nod of his bumper, glancing at Sterling before he headed out through the doors. The silver car gazed between Mater and Holley as Mater left, his gaze non-hostile, yet somewhat scared. He made the move to back up, but Holley stiffened and aimed her taser at him. "Don't think you're off the hook yet," she spoke up, glancing to where Flamington was, still flipped over. She had forgotten about him, and was curious as to how Mater had managed to do that, but she figured she'd ask later. Slowly backing away from Sterling, yet still keeping her taser aimed at him, Holley headed towards Flamington, her eyes narrowed. "And don't think you're free either." She told him sharply.

Mater glanced around the halls, trying to find his way out of the expansive building. Every time he'd stop a little, then start again, Finn would make a sound of pain. "I'm sorry Finn, we'll get ya outside and 'den you'll be better.." The tow truck stated quietly, his gaze pricking as he found the door to the outside world. Trying not to speed up too much, he quickly headed out and pulled out so Finn was in the rain.

Finn, whose hood was still open, slowly opened his eyes as the rain hit his engine, the raindrops making sharp hissing sounds as they came in contact with the metal and evaporated upon contact. He slowly began to loosen up, the pain in his eyes slowly receding to that of tiredness.

Mater tilted a bit as he watched Finn, wondering how he was feeling. "Ya okay now?" the tow truck asked quietly, taking note again of the oil that was pouring away from Finn's mouth and underside.

Finn's eyes opened again, though he coughed a little as he went to reply. "I'll...be fine Mater..." He spoke out with pain in his voice, though Mater could tell he was just saying that to quell the tow truck's worries.

"Finn...if yer' not okay we gotta get ya to a doctor as soon as we can!" Mater replied, coming around to the agent's front. "Now I'm gon' lift you up so I can see what's leaking oil," He said, flicking his tow cable under Finn's front bumper and slowly lifting him up.

Finn's injuries spread down his body like a trail. The heat from the electromagnetic pulse had fried away his oil pan until it was that of singed metal, which was the first source of Finn's quick oil-loss. As he was tilted upwards, oil spilled from out of the agent's muffler, and his front wheels turned inwards at a sudden lightheadedness. Mater sensed this and tried to keep his observations brief. From what else he could see, he could tell that fire had been where it shouldn't have and Finn was losing fluids quickly.

"Dad gum..." Mater breathed out, gently lowering Finn back down to the ground. Finn's hood was still raised, and now that the fire was quelled, the tow truck could try and get a better look. "Did ya figure out what they did to ya? Was it just the camera on ya?"

Finn shook his front bumper. "They loosened my spark plugs so they would light on fire in my gasoline tank..."

"Oh…" Mater breathed out, inching forward a bit to get a better look. There was still small trails of smoke edging here and there, and Mater could feel the heat travel up to his face. "Well...don't worry Finn, Holley an' I are gonna get you to a hospital."

Holley gazed over Sterling, then pulled up her radio in her remaining side view mirror. She called up their headquarters, talking to the leader that she and Finn worked for. "Sir, we've uncovered a case. We have two cars in custody and agent Finn McMissile has suffered severe injuries. I'll have these two cars arrested and Finn taken to the hospital that is nearby." After receiving confirmation for these actions, Holley then contacted the police and explained the situation.

The facility was held under investigation within ten minutes of the police being informed. A pair of police cars escorted Sterling out of the building, while another pair headed over to Flamington to push him upright and escort him as well. Holley watched them leave before her gaze trailed to Miles. She noticed that some officers were currently placing a white blanket over him, as to not let the sight haunt anyone who hadn't seen him yet.

As all of this happened inside, Mater's gaze pricked as an ambulance neared, its sirens wailing as it grew closer. Finn opened his eyes from where he had been resting as another tow truck pulled out of the ambulance. Mater told him to be careful, and the tow truck pulled Finn up into the emergency vehicle, the doors shutting as it began to speed away to the hospital.

Mater looked up as Holley came up beside him, her broken tire having been replaced so she could drive correctly. "Let's follow them, we might need to get fixed up too."

The drive was long, and it took a couple of minutes, but the two managed to reach the hospital just in time to see Finn being taken inside. Mater and Holley slowed themselves to take the other entrance, with Mater deciding he'd go and visit both Lightning and Finn. _The_ two headed up to the front desk and Holley explained who they were with, and eventually they were led to where Finn's room was. Wheeling inside, Mater looked his friend over with a worried look. He was hooked up to several machines; one machine was flowing with oil up through a pipe in Finn's undercarriage, and another was a mask over his mouth, providing oxygen as he seemed short of breath when he had arrived. Doctors and nurses were around him, still hooking up machines to him, like engine monitors and oil pressure gauges.

"Don't ya worry Finn...you're gonna get better soon," Mater reassured, and Holley moved up to the tow truck's side.

"He's right. Everything is under control, so no need to worry about us or what happened to the others. Miles' workers are where they need to be and Miles' himself..." she trailed off, noticing the guilty expression Mater was now wearing.

Finn's tired gaze was held on them, though he blinked, unaware of this information as h _e_ had been suffering so horribly during Miles' time of death. "Miles is dead...?" He asked, and Mater nodded a little bit.

A doctor turned to look at the two, ushering them backwards. "Please, visit him later, we have to operate on him now." She said, and Mater began to say something, but Holley nudged him to the door.

"C'mon Mater, let's go see McQueen and make sure he's alright."

Mater smiled at the thought of McQueen, and he took a last look at Finn before he backed up out the door. As soon as he wasn't in the room anymore, he quickly turned to head for the elevator in search of Lightning's room. The travel up the two floors was quiet, but as the door opened, Mater left hastily and began gazing at all the room numbers. "Oh-here it is!" Holley followed after him quietly, watching him begin to head into the room.

Lightning glanced up as Mater neared, his eyes widening. "Mater..!" He gasped out.

Mater looked him over, nearing quickly. "McQueen-McQueen are ya alright?" And it appeared as though McQueen was definitely getting better. Parts of his fenders had been fixed and his sides were not as scarred. His tires had been replaced, and he didn't look as though he was in as much pain as he had been before.

"Mater, I was so worried, what happened?" Lightning questioned, his eyes widening.

"Wanna hear the short story or the long one? Short story, everything's under control, long story, we captured the bad guys and everything is under control!" Mater said matter of factly, though he paused as Lightning gave a small laugh under his breath at the statement. "So how ya feelin? Doin' any better?" the tow truck questioned.

"I'm feeling a little better, buddy." Lightning replied, and Sally drove up a little as she spoke up.

"Where'd Finn go off to when he left?" She asked, and Holley made a vague gesture with her tire.

"Same place we ended up going to. He got pretty badly injured though so...he's downstairs right now in another room." Holley explained, and both cars in the room nodded. "I'm guessing everyone else went home? I didn't see Sarge and Fillmore out in the hall."

"Yeah, they left a little while after you two rushed off," Sally replied, letting out a sigh. "I'm glad you're all back. You were gone for most of the night, we were all getting worried."

Holley nodded a little. "Apparently, Miles Axlerod was behind it all again." Lightning and Sally's face was that of shock, so Holley continued. "He and his accomplices were all taken care of, and Mater was a big help." She decided to leave it at that, as everyone seemed alright with that answer. Mater didn't want to say he'd hurt anyone, but luckily Holley's explanation left it short and sweet.

"And don't worry Lightnin'! They're gon' fix you up so you'll be better in time for the next race! Oh, and you too Francesco!" Mater called.

Sally nuzzled against McQueen's side, gazing at him lovingly. "You'll be fixed soon, stickers."


	12. The Last Race

McQueen smiled, the sun glinting on his fresh paint. Ramone drew back, smiling at his work. "There you go man, now you look great!" he said, watching McQueen drive out further, sporting his new paint job to Sally.

Lightning glanced down at his hood, noting the immense detail from the shine. He swerved to the side quickly, tilting up a bit at Sally as his lightning bolt flashed brightly against the sun. "Kachow! I'm back in the games baby!" he said, a sly smirk forming on his face.

"Wow, Stickers, looking sharp," Sally started, giving him her familiar, complementing smile.

"Ya look great buddy! Everyone sure did fix ya up!" Mater added in as he drove up.

"It's amazing what a few days and some doctors can do for you." A voice spoke up behind from behind Mater.

Mater turned, grinning at Finn, who headed up behind him. "Finn, you're lookin' a lot better!" he stated enthusiastically, and Finn chuckled a little.

"I'm not all the way better Mater, but I'm getting there. I just thought I'd come by to see McQueen win this race," Finn replied, and Holley drove up beside the agent, expressing her statements of luck to Lightning.

All of them were gathered outside behind the pit crew rooms, getting ready for the race. Fillmore came up behind Lightning, who of which turned to look at the van. "Your fuel is all ready man."

"Thanks Fillmore," Lightning replied, heading forward a bit to glance at the TV. It showed the live broadcast, and soon the announcers were going to say the race was about to start. He turned around to face the members of his pit crew, offering a smile. "Thanks, guys, for the help."

"No problem, Lightnin'!" Mater exclaimed with a huge toothy grin. "Be careful out there, and we'll be sure ta tell ya what to do," he reminded.

"I'm sure I won't forget buddy," McQueen laughed, and watched as Sally rolled up to him.

"You'll do great out there Stickers," she stated confidently.

"Thanks Sal," Lightning replied with a warm smile.

"Hey! McQueen!" a voice called, and Lightning turned to see Francesco coming closer from the other end of the pits. "Good luck out there, you are going to need it!" Francesco started, rounding Lightning before starting to drive away, showing his 'Ciao McQueen' bumper sticker. "Francesco cannot wait to see your face when he beats you!" he added, driving off as quickly as he had come, not leaving Lightning any time to retaliate.

As the formula car left, McQueen rolled his eyes."Yeah, we'll see, Francesco," Lightning murmured to himself in amusement, watching as the formula car went up onto his section on the track. He turned to take a last look at everyone. "I'll see you after the race!" he called to them as he turned around, driving toward the racetrack. His pit crew members bid him goodbye, and Mater immediately retrieved his headset.

The cheering of the crowd only erupted further as McQueen made his way onto the scene, and he smiled wide at all the fans, happy to feel at home.The expansive streets of London had been cleared once again for the race. One lap, just like the first race. There was the dirt portion, the straightaway portion, and the heavy turn-laden portion. That was it, just one time. Lightning pulled up to his spot, in second to last. Francesco was behind him, revving his engine in competition with the red car.

Lightning closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. "Speed. I. Am. Speed."

The energy radiating off the crowds of cars filled him with motivation, and he opened his eyes again, his smile only growing. His sight flicked up to the signals, his gaze settled firmly onto the red light. "Good luck, Francesco! You're gonna need it!" Lightning said at the last minute, and the light flashed yellow, then green.

For a split second, everything was in slow motion, virtually silent. Then all of the race cars gunned their engines, smoke trailing behind their tires at the incredible speed. Lightning's eyes narrowed and a grin rose up on his face as he sped forward, the tail-end of another car in his vision. He could see past the car in front of him, where all of the other cars in front of him were lining up neatly as the road narrowed and their speeds rose. His gaze flicked backwards as he could hear the familiar sound of Francesco's engine, the formula car getting closer and closer.

Francesco smirked as he neared him, the sounds of their engines drowning out all other noises. The wind was ferocious against their frames, rippling past them at high speeds as they sped across the narrowed track. "Hey Francesco! How are you holding up back there?" Lightning called out, hoping his voice would break through the thundering engines.

"I should be asking you the same thing, McQueen!" Francesco answered, gunning his engine further and suddenly slipping by the red racer as the road widened.

Though, his lead would be hindered by the nearing dirt portion of the track. Lightning grinned as he neared the dirt, his fond memories of Doc meeting his mind once more. He narrowed his gaze and performed the famous trick once the dirt was beneath him, slamming his wheels right as he neared the left hand turn.

Francesco attempted to do the same, but his open fenders left this impossible as his wheels bent in a little too far. At this, the Italian racer declined in speed, watching as Lightning slid across the curved dirt track. As the track took changes in direction, Lightning changed his body's rhythm in accordance to it. There were long moments of intense suspension, every car battling to stay in their positions. Relief and happiness flooded through Lightning as the dirt underneath him transitioned into asphalt, his tires absorbing the cool surface.

His speed increased exponentially, and Lightning could hear Mater calling praises to him over the headset. Francesco slipped in place-markers until he was just about last, which was when his tires hit the road once again. Slamming the gas, Francesco felt his speed rise faster and faster, his labeling of last place changing quickly. The streets of London grew thin once again, and Francesco's eyes narrowed as he pressed himself further, almost up to McQueen again. "Watch out Lightnin'! Francesco's closin' in!" Mater warned his friend.

Lightning glanced to the side, not being able to see Francesco , but hearing the familiar sound of his engine. "Got it, thanks Mater!" Lightning called over the headset, pressing his gas further.

"Ciao, McQueen!" Francesco called, gunning his engine hard as he drew up a little bit past Lightning, his engine only roaring louder.

"You're gonna eat those words!" Lightning called with his own smirk, feeling a playful, competitive sensation in himself. Francesco gave the red race car a look before taking a further lead, edging in back in front of Lightning and keeping himself there. The final yards of the race were nearing, and victory was so close he could taste it.

Francesco smiled wider and wider as he grew closer and closer to the finish line. Lightning pushed himself out until he was bumper to bumper with Francesco. He could feel the air all around him, how fast he was going, and Francesco's presence beside him. It felt like a dream coming true. Bumper to bumper with his rival, seconds from the end. He glanced every few seconds at the formula car, and memories relayed in his head, both good and bad. And these memories gave him the urge to win even more. Francesco glanced to McQueen, and somehow, increased his speed every so slightly more.

Lightning already knew it. He could tell, as any racer could, whether he was going to win or lose in these final seconds. But he wasn't unhappy. He looked to Francesco, who was very focused on what he was doing, his gaze straight ahead and his expression concentrated. And in that second, the two crossed the finish line, still bumper to bumper. "Unbelievable! A bumper to bumper finish!" The commentators were calling, all looking to their headsets and cameras to see who the real winner was. But Lightning already knew.

"And Francesco has taken the win! Earning first place is Francesco Bernoulli!" The announcers exclaimed, and the crowds screamed in excitement, their tires slamming onto the ground and bodies shaking from side to side as they all embraced the victory.

Lightning smiled, even laughed, as he came to saw Francesco's reaction. "Ah, buenísimo! Look at that!" Francesco breathed happily, smiling wide up at the crowds that were cheering for him. The two race cars were still driving at their high speed, but began coming to a gradual stop. As they slowed, Francesco turned to McQueen, his rear end wiggling in excitement and his winning smirk growing. "Haha! McQueen! You are the one who will be eating those words!" He stated, and Lightning rolled his eyes a little, still having his competitive smile.

"Yeah, alright Francesco, I guess you got me there." He replied, and he and Francesco turned to watch the other racers earn their places in the race.

Once the other racers retrieved their respective numbers, they all returned to their pit crews. Lightning glanced at Francesco, who was busy staying on the track for a bit longer and focusing on the crowds. "Don't get TOO confident, Francesco," Lightning said, driving in front of the other car to grab his attention.

The Italian racer looked at Lightning with, of course, a confident smile. "We'll see about that, McQueen! I'll bring back what I have today next time we race," he stated, and the red race car rolled his eyes.

"I'll beat you next time, you'd better watch out!" he said with a chuckle, and the two exchanged equal expressions of agreement. "See you around," McQueen said, beginning to turn toward his pit crew.

Mater's gaze pricked as Lightning neared and he rushed over, practically jumping out of his fenders. "Wow Lightnin' you were awesome!" He congratulated, rounding his friend and driving on his left now. "Second place ain't bad!" He continued, prompting Lightning to smile back at him.

Finn glanced at Holley from where the two were in the back of the pits. "Well, that was quite the break from our regular work, don't you think?" He laughed, and Holley laughed a little as well. "To think our break was supposed to be the whole week."

"Well, that's how things work in our line of agency," Finn continued, seeming to be reminiscing a bit. "Quite the exciting week if I do say so myself, you never feel more alive than when you're almost dead."

"I'm just glad it's all over," Holley replied, glancing to Mater, who was still following Lightning around happily.

It was silent between both cars as they watched Lightning meet up with the other members of his pit crew. Sally drove up to him, congratulating on how great he was during the race and how proud she was of him. Mater agreed with everything the porsche said, making sure to not leave his best friend's side.

Finn glanced over to the crowds who were beginning to quiet down from all of the excitement. He then looked to Holley, who seemed to be concentrated on another part of the scene herself."I want to thank you and Mater for saving my life."

Holley smiled at him and laughed. "Oh Finn, it's fine, we've saved each other's lives before, it's nothing new." She chuckled, and Finn laughed a little as well. "Well," Holley continued, driving forward a little, "I'd better go reign in Mater before he runs McQueen over." With that, the magenta car slipped out of the pits.

Finn chuckled, watching as she headed over to the tow truck. The blue agent took in a deep breath, feeling finally at ease. It looked like everything turned out alright in the end. Revving his engine, he followed after Holley and the others to congratulate McQueen.


End file.
